The present invention relates to weaponry and fire control. More specifically, it relates to an ammunition projectile and a fire control device for tracing the path of a projectile while in ballistic flight toward a given target, so as to improve precision and accuracy when aiming a subsequent projectile at the same or another target.
The U.S. Pat. No. 8,074,555 discloses a system for tracking the lateral drift and vertical drop of an ammunition projectile while in flight to provide a precise aim point for firing one or more subsequent projectiles. With this system, a projectile is provided with an optical emitter, in the rear of the projectile housing, which produces optical strobe signals at predetermined times (T1, T2, T3 . . . ) following firing of the projectile (at time T0). An optical detector receives the optical signals and an image processor determines the lateral drift (i.e. X1, X2, X3 . . . ) and vertical drop (i.e. Y1, Y2, Y3 . . . of the projectile at the predetermined times (T1, T2, T3 . . . ) following time T0. The subject matter of this patent is incorporated herein by reference.
This system uses the real time data to correct for aiming errors due to gun jump, wind turbulence, altitude-dependent wind conditions, lot-to-lot ammunition irregularities, bore sight misalignment and the like, for use when firing subsequent projectiles. This system is optimized to function with projectiles that have adequate energy to power LED's to emit strobe light and where the ballistic trajectory angles are significant (e.g., with mortars, artillery and 40 mm systems).